Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra: Voices & Visions

• Leigh Barrett, narrator
• Stuart Malina, conductor

Zoltán Kodály — Nyári este ("Summer Evening")
Stephen Paulus — Voices from the Gallery (Harrisburg premiere)
Felix Mendelssohn — Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian"

Take a journey through art, culture, and time, beginning with Zoltán Kodaly's evocative Summer Evening, and Stephen Paulus' Voices from the Gallery, a sardonic take on masterpieces of visual art, in its first performance in Harrisburg.

Mendelssohn's inimitable charm and sparkle fill his 4th symphony, which brings the program to an uplifting close.

Performances on Jan. 6 & 7.

About Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra

The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra can be traced back to the early 1930s when a group of dedicated and resourceful music lovers decided, against all odds, to form a symphony in the city of Harrisburg. The country was in the throes of the Great Depression, but the group forged ahead, giving their first concert at William Penn High School in Harrisburg on March 19, 1931. The conductor on that occasion was George King Raudenbush, who was to become the orchestra's first music director. By the end of 1931 the orchestra had moved its concerts to the newly-opened Forum Auditorium in the Education Building, part of the Capitol Complex, where it still performs to this day. The 1931-32 season included four concerts. The cost of a subscription: $2!

Slowly but surely, the institution took root, eventually taking its rightful place among the Capitol Region's cornerstone cultural institutions. Beginning with Maestro Raudenbush, who stayed until 1950, the Harrisburg Symphony has had six music directors. Succeeding Raudenbush in the 1950-51 season was Edwin McArthur, whose tenure lasted until 1974. He was followed by David Epstein (1974-1978), Larry Newland (1978-1994), Richard Westerfield (1995-1999), and Stuart Malina (2000-present). If the founders were alive today, they would see their humble creation transformed into a fully professional orchestra and a powerful and dynamic force that touches the lives of tens of thousands of people each year.

A typical season includes seven pairs of Masterworks concerts, five pairs of concerts on the Capital Blue Cross Pops Series, two Young Persons' Concerts for school age children, and free outdoor concerts in several communities over the July 4th weekend. In addition, the Symphony season includes a number of educational activities, including in-school performances and master classes featuring Harrisburg Symphony musicians.

Operating under the umbrella of the Harrisburg Symphony is the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra, founded in 1953 and one of the oldest youth symphonies in the country. There are three ensembles in the program: the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra for high school age musicians, the Junior Youth String Orchestra for middle school age musicians, and the Elementary String Orchestra for elementary musicians. All ensembles perform twice each year at the Forum and at Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg. Gregory Woodbridge, Associate Conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony, is Music Director of the Youth Symphony. Krista Kriel is conductor of the Junior Youth Strings, and Nelson Rodriguez-Parada is conductor of the Elementary String Orchestra.

The Harrisburg Symphony is governed by a 27-member Board of Directors. The current Board Chair is Patricia Ferris. The Symphony is enthusiastically supported in its fundraising efforts by the Harrisburg Symphony Society under the direction of its president, Debra Yates.

https://harrisburgsymphony.org/

About Leigh Barrett, narrator

Leigh Barrett, is a beloved Boston based actor, singer & director. Although she received her Bachelor's degree in Voice Performance, opera emphasis, from Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory in Ohio, she has found her home in musical theatre.

https://leighbarrett.com/

About Stuart Malina, conductor

In a wide variety of concerts, from masterworks and grand opera to pops, Stuart Malina's ease on the podium, engaging personality, and insightful interpretations have thrilled audiences and helped to break down the barriers between performer and listener.

This year marks Stuart's 24th season as Music Director and conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. During this period, the orchestra has seen remarkable artistic and economic growth and solidified its place as one of the premiere performing arts organizations in the state. In June, 2022, he was named Music Director of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra in Greenwich, CT, where he began conducting concerts in September of 2022. From 2013 to 2023, he was Principal Guest Conductor of The Florida Orchestra, leading nine concert series each season, including the orchestra’s highly acclaimed Coffee series. He was previously music director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In September of 2019, he was appointed Music Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the orchestra of the Adirondacks, which performs for six weeks each summer. In December of 2021, he made his St. Louis Symphony debut, and returns this December. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2007, conducting the New York Pops in an all-Gershwin tribute including Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the keyboard. He has recently performed with the symphony orchestras of Fort Worth, Hawaii, Eugene, Hong Kong, New Mexico, Fresno, Charleston, and Greensboro, as well as the Chautauqua Institution and the Sarasota Music Festival. He has had multiple engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Eastern Music Festival.

In 2017, Stuart led two tours of Russia through the American embassy in Moscow, bringing American music to Russian audiences in seven cities. In 2008, Stuart, along with several members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, spent 11 days in residence at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in Tianjin, China, conducting the orchestra and coaching and performing chamber music.

An accomplished pianist, Stuart has impressive credits as soloist and chamber musician. He has performed concertos in Harrisburg, Greensboro, Charleston, New York and Chautauqua, most often conducting from the keyboard. As a composer and arranger, he has created dozens of orchestral works, ranging from entire pops shows to works for symphony orchestra. His most recent composition, Common Fanfare for an Uncommon Orchestra, received its world premiere by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra in September of 2017.

Stuart's activities also extend to Broadway. In 2003, he won the Tony award for orchestration with Billy Joel for the musical Movin’ Out, which he helped create with Twyla Tharp, and served as the music coordinator for every production of the show. He acted in Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play Master Class, opposite Zoe Caldwell and Audra MacDonald, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has also served as associate conductor of the national touring company of West Side Story and as conductor of the Charleston production of Porgy and Bess.

In May, 2020, Stuart received an honorary doctorate from Lebanon Valley College. He has been awarded the Joanne Rogers Award for contribution to the artistic life of Pennsylvania, the Jump Street Spectrum Award, Lebanon Valley College’s in 2012 Founders Day Award, the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from Theater Harrisburg, and Leadership Harrisburg's Platinum Award for Servant Leadership.

Stuart holds degrees from Harvard University, the Yale School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller. He studied piano with Drora and Baruch Arnon and with Keiko Sato.

He resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Marty. They are the proud parents of two children, Sara and Zev.

https://www.stuartmalina.com/